This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

In the next week we should get a barrage of Olympic previews. I have mixed feelings about the international ritual but the cynicism goes on the back burner for soccer, which holds my attention even through the smog marketing mayhem. I’ll watch some of the television coverage of other sports thanks in large part to a lack of summer competition, and I’m always up for some environmental and geopolitical intrigue, but like many Chinese men, national team soccer is all I really care about. And that has nothing to do with it being the Olympics. Click HERE for the full story…

GET IN LINE EDITION

On Sunday I chose to watch the US MNT World Cup Qualifier live and follow it up with Spain-Italy from the European Championships on DVR-delay. Wild guess: I made the rare selection. The rest of the day’s decisions, unfortunately, were less unusual. Click HERE for the full story…

SHIRT OFF MY BACK EDITION

USA 2, Mexico 2. Man those games are fun (even when the soccer aint so good, and it don’t count for nothin). Altidore scored what will be his first of many international goals (and mixed it up throughout his 90 minutes). Onyewu returned from his recent international doldrums with, yes, a perfect header, but he also hustled back and stood up the countering Mexicans seconds later (without a foul!). Bocanegra was the foul king last night, but he did manage to not make any of the major mishaps he has a tendency to oblige (and that have him out of the Fulham starting lineup?). Michael Bradley also committed some dumb fouls and continues to struggle with carrying his club prowess into the national team (it was painful to watch him for most of the night, but all of our European-based players looked tired, so we’ll give him the friendly pass). Considering we shoulda coulda won what was a game largely dominated by the speed and tenacity of the young Mexicans (we should all count our blessings that Giovanni Dos Santos played as few minutes as he did) in front of what seemed like 60,000 Mexican fans in Houston of all places, I guess a draw - a Mexican moral victory as it was called - is acceptable (as long as Bradley learned some things ((like bringing in a few more defensive backs?))).

My favorite part of the game and the rest of this week’s news are after the jump. For continuing updates on all the must-read stories, Follow TIAS at Twitter (see side panel at right).

banner photo courtesy of ISI Photos

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2007 FOUND AMERICAN SOCCER IN SEARCH OF ITS HEAD

It started with the retirement of Brian McBride from international duty after the 2006 World Cup and has continued downhill to the incapable feet of otherwise able bodies.

The national team’s striker regression, however, highlights more than one team’s struggle to find a player fit for a role. Throughout the ranks of American soccer, the national team’s shortcomings up front lay bare the game-changing skills, mental and physical, still largely missing in America’s version of the global game. It reverberates throughout American soccer, making this the year of a headless beast. Click HERE for the full story…

special to tias, a guest column by Ryan O’Hanlon

“American soccer” seems to be a redundant term. Is the United States just trying to be different from the rest of the world? Is this a metric system situation? Australia kicked soccer to the curb in 2004 when it officially announced that ‘football’ was the proper nomenclature. New Zealand and South Africa still commonly use the term soccer, but I’m beginning to think ’soccer’ is more than just a word. It represents how the game is played, especially here in the United States. Watch any game, whether MLS, Division 1, or even the US National team, and soccer is what you get - a sport that relies on physical strength, speed, and supreme conditioning over tactical acumen or technical skill.

Soccer can still be the beautiful game, but too often it is the waiting game. Click HERE for the full story…

It’s not exclusive to soccer or even sports. I think it has something to do with human nature, specifically fear and comfort-ability. How else can you explain the hegemony within the constant reshuffling of power positions inside USSF or the fact that it seems everybody who gets the jobs I want has a famous family or friend?

Yesterday John Hackworth was fired from his position as head coach of the U17 national team and residency program director. Today he was relegated/demoted/promoted to assistant coach of the US MNT and Development Academy Director. Given the incestuous maneuvering – Rick Reilly to ESPN/Dan Patrick to Sports Illustrated springs to mind of another reshuffling – what is really changing?

A Rose by any other name is stinking up the joint after the jump…
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U.S. Tops Switzerland 1-0 in Europe to End Losing Streak

He delivered what I thought was the best game preview written in the last few days. And now Michael J. Agovino is back, reporting from the US MNT’s 1-0 win over Switzerland in Basel. But this might have to be it for Michael. Or people are going to start to expect this kind of sharp, concise writing all the time at TIAS. And that doesn’t bode well for me.
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Switzerland is looking for light in the shadows of European soccer. That’s trouble for the U.S.

Just another friendly. We learned a lot. They’re a good team. That’s the gist of what we’ll be hearing from numerous players and coaches after the US MNT and Switzerland finish play in Basel. And maybe it’s true. Thats the rub with friendlies. With sports journalism really. Can we really trust anything any of them say? A timely question - Hope - now more than ever - Solo. If we can’t trust what they say, that still leaves us reams of technical data and circumstance.

When it comes to sport, I’m not one for data because they are yet to quantify emotion. That leaves us circumstance. Which is exactly why the US MNT better not come out like they did against Sweden in August. Switzerland is swimming in circumstance.

It also helps if you have a good writer to make sense of it. Former Newsweek and Esquire Magazine editor Michael J. Agovino - he last wrote about soccer (jerseys) for Slate here - was kind enough to take time away from a book project in Zurich to set the scene. After the jump, Michael tells us what we should expect from the Swiss.
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Men’s National Team Roster vs. Switzerland. Basel, Switzerland. October 17, 2007

GOALKEEPERS (3): Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tally Hall (Esbjerg), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jay Demerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Steve Purdy (1860 Munich)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Danny Szetela (Racing Santander)
FORWARDS (4): Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Preston Zimmerman (Hamburger SV), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

A quick reaction and then straight to the always thorough USSF press release after the jump…
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In one of those last minute moves that makes me cringe, US WNT coach Greg Ryan has decided to start veteran goal keeper Briana Scurry in place of Hope Solo for the ladies World Cup semi-final game against Brazil. Scurry is unbeaten against Brazil and coach Ryan said something about her quick reflexes and tricky Brazilians.

It screams of over-thinking, but at this late stage, I’m just going to hope pray it works out. Because in tomorrow morning’s game (8am EST), a valiant loss isn’t going to be acceptable as it was with the men in their friendly Clash of Champions.

Steve Goff has more details from China.